Palestinians rally in Gaza against Abbas

Gaza (QNN) – Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Gaza city demanding the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to step down on Sunday.

People gathered at al-Saraya Square in central Gaza city, held posters and chanted slogans against Abbas.

In a statement for Free Gaza Movement, the organization behind the protests, the movement demanded Abbas to hold presidential and legislative elections, which were last held in 2009, and to end the sanctions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank took to the streets to express their solidarity with Abbas against the voices that demand him to leave the presidency.

Over the past year, Abbas has cut budgets allocated to Gaza to pressure Hamas to return control of the Strip to the Palestinian Authority.

Earlier this month, the PA paid just 25 percent of the salaries of its employees in the Gaza Strip. The PA slashed the salaries of its employees in the Gaza Strip at the beginning of 2017 as part of the sanctions imposed by Abbas against the besieged enclave.